Juniors Roscoe Byrd and Hayden Naumann are recovering from leg injuries. Byrd, a starter last year, broke his leg against Middle Tennessee last year. He's been able to do some work during practice and could do more when UAB returns after Spring Break on Sunday.

"He's limited," UAB head coach Bill Clark said. "It's one of those things where he's fighting through the pain but a week off should help him because he's a guy we're counting on to play."

"I think that whole group is really doing good. Really, there's only eight or nine of them, but I would say the whole group I'm really proud of."

"They thought it was a day at the beach today," Clark said on Friday. "We had kicking inter-spaced. They had been going two, two and a half hours, no breaks. Here they were today, they're not even breathing hard.

"Those are the things that where I hope they get to, that normal practices are tougher than being in games."

The limited numbers on the line won't be the norm, hopefully. UAB loaded up on offensive linemen in the 2014 signing class. Transfers Kelepi Folau, Ryan Krum, Kelvin Shelton and Daniel Anousheh - all from California junior colleges - will join high school signees Deontae Crumitie (Lake City, Fla.) and Justin Brown (Hampton, Ga.). Lee DuFour (Saraland) and Hunter Kennedy (Charles Henderson) are in-state linemen also expected to join the program.

Also by the fall, UAB expects to have Byrd and Naumann back fully healthy to join the competition.

"When we get to 15-16 scholarship linemen and get really good walk-ons, you'll see us practice like we want to," Clark said. "That won't be until this summer and next year, but when we get that, we'll practice like we want to because we're limited by O-Line. Those guys don't get much of a break."